A bill of amendments to the local council election law and related laws aimed at lowering the minimum voting age in local polls to 16 years passed its third and final reading in the Estonian parliament on Thursday.

The bill initiated by the parliamentary constitutional affairs committee was passed with votes 55 to 30 and four abstentions.

The Local Government Council Election Act had to be changed to bring it into line with a constitutional amendment that stepped into effect in August 2015, which reduced the voting age in local elections from 18 years to 16 years.

According to the amendment persons who have turned 16 by the day of the election will have the right to vote in the election of the council of the municipality they reside in.

The bill failed to pass last November, falling two votes short of the required majority of 51.